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WASHINGTON 



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TOGETHER 



WITH THE DUCHE COMESPONDENCE. 



'* A dny, an hour of virtuous liberty, ^ 

Is worth a whole eternity in bondage.", ^.-'^^i '^LP'^^^^^^ 



?^. 



PUBLISHSB BY 
J. M. BUTLER, 242 CHESTNUT ST., 

©Iti Numicr 84, 
JAYNES GRANITE BUILDING, 



1881 
^f WASH\H' 



cC^y 




Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by 

J. M. BUTLER, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of 

Pennsylvania. 



STF.REOTYPKP BY JesPER HaRDIXG & SoN", 
INQUIRER BUILDING, SOUTH THLRD STREET, PHILA. 



wisifflCT®a AT fiLLiY mmE. 



CHAPTER I. 

" When freedom from her mountain height 
Unfiirrd iier standard to the air, 
She tore the azure robe of night 

And set the stars of glory there ! 
She mingled with its gorgeous dyes 
The milky baldric of the skies, 
And striped its pure celestial white, 
With streakings from the morning light ! 
Then, from his mansion in the sun, 
She called her eagle bearer down. 
And gave into his mighty hand 
The symbol of her chosen land !" 

Joseph Rodman Drake. 

In the history of a nation, how frequently 
we overlook the accomplishments of peace, 
for the glittering page that records their con- 
quests and their miUtary fame ! The absorb- 
ing interest attached to scenes of strife and 

(3) 



4 WASHINGTON AT 

carnage, chiefly engross the attention of the 
reader; they glide over the less exciting in- 
cidents of the story, and hasten on to those 
scenes, whose terrible realities far exceed 
the wildest illusions of romance. The 
historian, aw\are of this proclivity of the 
human mind, imparts interest to his page, 
by presenting in glowing language all that 
can allure or startle the reader. What varied 
emotions are excited by the thriUing narra- 
tive of the combat ! From the first onset, to 
the final overthrow, every event is presented 
with terrible distinctness; and the blood- 
stained field, ghastly with its burden of 
death, is vividly pourtrayed, dimly revealed 
in the pale moonbeams, or illumed by the 
glare of burning villages, adding new horrors 
to the scene it discloses. 

Although the brilliant achievements of 
the battle-field may dazzle by their evane- 
scent splendor, and excite the most vivid 
emotions of the mind b}' presenting in fear- 



VALLEY FORGE. 6 

ful reality all that the wildest imngination 
can conceive of what is dreadful and appall- 
ing; although the martial theme may glow 
with brightest lustre on the historic page, a 
nation s most enduring glory is not to be won 
in scenes like these. The courage that 
nerves the arm, and sustains the spirit in 
the battle's shock, is but a savage attribute ; 
it exists in the bosom of the hireling soldier, 
and animates the savage beast of the forest 
in search of its ^vey. But the sublime hero- 
ism, the constancy and resignation that sus- 
tain the patriot in his country's cause, are 
far nobler attributes than those which 
animate the mere adventurer in the bloody 
game. When fate is adverse, and cruel for- 
tune presses him to the earth, with what 
pure devotion and self-sacrifice he calmly 
awaits -the propitious moment when Heaven 
shall reward his struggles and bid his suffer- 
ings cease ! He fights not for the spoils of 
conquest, nor the oppression of a race, but 



6 W A SHINGTON AT 

for a home, rich in all the blessings that flow 
from a free and enlightened country. 

This was the sjDirit that animated and sus- 
tained the patriot army when it Iny encamped 
at Valley Forge, in the memorable winter of 
1777, '78. How many recollections, endear- 
in"; to American hearts, are associated with 
that sacred spot ! It was there, after a cam- 
paign of four months, harassed by tiresome 
marches and perpetual alarms, their life one 
continued scene of hardship and danger, they 
came with naked and bleeding feet amidst 
the driving snows of winter, and lay down 
in that dreary camp to become acquainted 
with hunger, cold, and watchfulness ! There, 
in the midst of frost and snow, they erected 
Liberty's altar; and the history of the world 
has no parallel to the sublime heroism which, 
animated and sustained by the immortal 
Washington, upheld the cause of freedom 
through the gloomiest period of American 
history ! How the heart thrills with admira- 



VALLEY FORGE. 7 

tion at their devotion and courage, or is moved 
with pity at the recital of their sufferings! 
Unhappy men. far from home and the tender 
assiduities of friendship, their sufferings un- 
mitigated and iinreheved by their ahiiost 
despairing country, with no well known 
voices of home to soothe their sorrows, no 
wife, nor mother near, to relieve their wants 
or close their eyes in death ; they sank into 
the 2:rave almost unnoticed and unnumbered, 
with no friendly tear but those of sorrowing 
comrades shed for their sufferings or mingled 
with their dust. But their sufferings have 
consecrated the spot in every patriot heart, 
while history, tradition, and art shall trans- 
mit the tragic story to remotest posterity, as 
a sublime incentive to emulation when the 
imperilled liberties of their country shall 
summon them to arms. 

After a few unimportant skirmishes and 
show of battle at Whitemarsh, the British 
general, seeing no probability of an engage- 



5 WASHINGTON AT 

men I:, and the season being far advanced, 
resolved to retire into winter quarters at 
Philadelpiiia, after directing a general forage 
of the country on the western side of tlie 
Schuylkill. On the 30th of November, Wash- 
ington called a general council of Avar, for the 
purpose of selecting the most eligible spot, and 
to decide on the best manner of cantoning the 
troops for the winter. ' So numerous were 
the selections, and so conflicting the state- 
ments of the advantages of each, that Wash- 
ington, seeing a unanimous decision could 
not be hoped for, selected on his own respon- 
sibility Valley Forge, as the most eligible 
spot. Among other advantages it possessed, 
w^as the important one of being sufficiently 
near Philadelphia, to w^atch the eneni}^ and 
prevent its foraging parties from ravaging 
the country. In general orders issued two 
days previous to the patriot army quitting 
Whitemarsh, Washington gave explicit direc- 
tions for the erection of huts to shelter the 



VALLEY FORGE. 9 

troops, canvas tents being considered utterly 
insufficient to shelter them from the severity 
of the weather ; at the same time stating his 
determination to share with his soldiers every 
hardship and privation that awaited them. 
Nothing could have been more deplorable 
than the condition of the army when it be- 
gan its march for Valley Forge ; they were 
wholly unprovided even with the commonest 
necessaries for the arduous service before 
them; none were provided with sufficient 
clothing to protect them with any degree of 
comfort from the weather, while numbers 
had nothing but rags to cover them. 80 
pitiable was their condition, "that they 
appeared more like mendicants than the 
defenders of a generous country,"* many 
were entirely without shoes, and their 
naked feet, lacerated by the hard and frozen 
earth, marked with bloody footprints every 
step of that sorrowful march. 

* Oiis';; Boltii. 



10 WASHINGTON AT 

Valley Forge is situated in Chester Cuunt}^, 
about twenty miles from Philadelphia, on 
the western side of the Schuylkill ; it is a 
deep and rugged hollow, scooped out, as it 
were, from the side of the mounlain. It was 
on the mountainous flanks of this valley, 
and the plain overlooking it, that the arm}' 
encamped. A little stream runs through the 
valley, turning in its course the v;heel of a 
cotton factory that stands on its banks, near 
where it empties into the Schu3'lkill ; the 
factory stands on the side of the old forge 
erected many years ago by Isajic^^t^s, who 
had extensive mining interests in the district, 
and from this circumstance the place derived 
its name of Valley Forge. 

In the season of summer, when nature 
shines in full beauty and splendor, when 
the groves are melodious with the songs of 
birds, and pure and gentle gales blow from 
the mountains, when every hill-top and vale 
presents a scene on which the ej'e loves to 



VALLEY FORGE. 11 

linger, the visitor to Valley Forge Avill find 
it a scene of exquisite rural beauty; the 
little stream that ripples through the valley 
murmuring a gentle invitation to enter upon 
the sacred spot. But when the patriot army 
approached, it presented a far different 
aspect; the white drapery of winter lay on 
the dead earth like a shroud, emblematic of 
their almost expiring hopes of home and 
country ; the little brook w^as silent in its icy 
covering, and the blasts of winter howled 
their fierce welcome through the defiles of 
the mountains; the w^hole aspect of nature 
affording a sad intimation of the many trials 
that awaited them. 

So slow was the march of the army that 
it required from the 11th to the 19th of 
December to reach Valley Forge. On the 
18th the entire army engaged in religious 
services. Congress having recommended it as 
a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. On 
the morning of the 19 th the army reached 



12 WASHINGTON AT 

Valley Forge, and immediately began the 
necessary woik of erecting hufs for shelter. 
They worked with great alacrit}^, and hill- 
side and plain were soon alive with activity 
and bustle. Excepting those who were too 
poorly clad to admit of exposure, all worked 
with zeal ; the strongest cut down the trees, 
others fashioned them into shape and con- 
veyed them to the spot where they w^ere to 
be used ; and soon the rude huts began to 
rise above the hitherto deserted plain. 
Washington, to stimulate exertion and re- 
w-ard the active and skillful, promised the 
reward of twelve dollars to the party in each 
regiment who finished their hut in the most 
expeditious and workmanlike manner; an 
additional reward of one hundred dollars was 
offered to the officer or soldier who could 
devise a suitable form of covering for the 
huts cheaper and more easily obtained than 
boards. In a few da3^s the barracks w^ere 
completed, and having been built with some 



VALLEY FORGE. 13 

degree of regularity iu streets and squares, 
presented somewhat the appearance of a 
city. Washington now removed to the 
dwelling of Isaac Potts, and made it his 
head-quarters, having occupied his marquee, 
comfortless and exposed as it was, during 
the building of the huts, according to his 
resolve to share w^ith his soldiers exery 
vicissitude that hard fortune imposed upon 
them. 

On the spot where Washington planted his 
marquee on the day of his arrival there nov/ 
stands an observatory erected by Mr. Charles 
H. Rogers, who owns the cotton factory and 
much of the landed property in the vicinit}^ 
It is a handsome structure, octagon in shape, 
and about forty feet in height, wdth a spiral 
stair-case leading to an open gallery on the 
top. Standing on the brow of a hill, it 
affords an extensive view of the surround- 
ing country and the camping ground of the 
army. 



14 AV A S H I N G T N AT 

We are indebted to Lossing's " Field 
Book of the Revolution/' for the following 
account of the encampment and the disposi- 
tion of the troops : 

'^ Near Washington's head-quarters, on a 
gentle elevation by the river, were stationed 
his body or life-guard, under the command 
of Charles Gibb, of Rhode Island. A little 
to the right of the guard was the brigade of 
General M'Intosh ; and further up the hill 
were the brigades of Huntington, Conway, 
and Maxwell. Between these and M'ln- 
tosh's brigade were a redoubt and slight in- 
trenchment, and directly in front of them 
was a line of ahaiis. Nearer the Schuylkill, 
and on the top of the hill, was the brigade of 
General Varnum, near a star redoubt. At 
a distance of about a mile, and forming a line 
from the Schuylkill to Valley Creek, w^as the 
main portion of the army, under Brigadiers 
Muhlenberg, Weedon, Paterson, Learned, 
Glover, Poor, Wayne, Scott, and Woodford, 



VALLEY FORGE. 15 

with a line of intrenchments in front. The 
artificers of the army were on the north side 
of the creek, opposite the General's quarters; 
and near the cotton factory was the army 
bake-house. There was also an irregular 
line of intrenchments along the brow of the 
hill, on the south side of the creek. Not 
far southward of Rogers' observatory was a 
redoubt, and near it was Knox's artillery. 
The remains of this redoubt are yet very 
prominent in the woods, on the right side of 
the road leading from Valley Forge to Paoli; 
also the redoubt on the left wing of the en- 
campment (now near the Reading Raih'oad) 
is well preserved, the forest protecting it 
from demolition." 

Thus ended this severe and arduous cam- 
paign. The only advantage derived by the 
British General from his various successes, 
was the important one of having secured 
most excellent winter quarters for his troops ; 
and this advantage was enjoyed to the 



16 WASHINGTON AT 

utmost. With them, the period of inaC" 
tivity was enlivened by scenes of gaiety and 
splendor; and the few hours devoted to 
military duty were followed by the convivial 
scene, where plenty abounded, and luxury 
wooed them to indulgence. Bat how differ- 
ent was it with the patriot army ! — there, 
amid the snow-covered hills of Valley Forge, 
where freedom's flame but feebly glimmered 
on the altar, the sons of freedom were con- 
tending with hunger and cold, and every 
form of wretchedness that can crush the 
spirit or subdue the heart ; while their ranks 
w^ere daily thinned by diseases insidious and 
deadly, and more fatal than the sword. 

The house occupied by Washington as his 
head-quarters, is a substantial stone edifice, 
standing near the mouth of the creek; his 
own room was very small, with a deep win- 
dow looking eastward, and commanding a 
view of the neighboring slopes, and a large 
portion of the ground w^here the army was 



VALLEY FORGE. 17 

encamped. The visitor is yet shown, in the 
broad sill of the window, the little trap-door, 
and the cavity beneath it, which Washing- 
ton had arranged as a secret depository for 
his papers. The associations connected with 
this sacred spot are of the most interesting 
character. In this humble apartment Wash- 
ington toiled uncensingly to alleviate the suffer- 
ings of his army, and to retrieve the adverse 
fortunes of his country. As we stand before 
the little casement, and gaze upon the ex- 
tended prospect, radiant with the bloom of 
spring, the mind reverts to those daj^s of 
trial when Washington stood here, gazing 
with anguish and sorrow upon the snow- 
covered hills, where his suffering army Iny 
Avithering in the grasp of winter and desti- 
tution ! How frequently has this little win- 
dow shone with the light of his midnight 
labor, gleaming through the darkness like the 
star of hope in the midst of gloom and de- 
spair, cheering the weary sentinel in his 



18 WASHINGTON AT 

bleak night watchj as the guiding star of 
heaven cheers the lone mariner on the track- 
less seas ! How frequently has this hallowed 
room witnessed his communion with the 
throne of grace, when oppressed by the trials 
inseparable to his exalted position ! One of 
the most prominent traits in Washington's 
character was his steadj^ reliance on Divine 
assistance; and with a firm conviction of the 
justice of his cause, he moved on, calm and 
serene, amid the distrust of friends and the 
imputations of his enemies, with bright hopes 
and brilliant plans for the future. 

The following affecting incident is related 
of Washington in Lossing's beautiful " Field 
Book of the Revolution;" it is one of the 
niost interesting incidents among the events 
of that sad period : 

" Isaac Potts, at whose house Washington 
was quartered, relates that one day, while 
the Americans w^ere encamped at Valley 
Forge, he strolled up the creek, when, not 



VALLEY FORGE. 19 

f{ir from his dam he heard a solemn voice. 
He walked quietly in the direction of it, and 
saw Washington's horse tied to a sapling. 
In a thicket near by was the beloved chief 
upon his knees in prayer, his cheeks suffased 
with tears. Like iMoses at the bush, Isaac 
felt that he was upon holy ground, and with- 
drew unobserved. He was much agitated, 
and on entering the room where his wife was, 
he burst into tears. On her inquiring the 
cause, he informed her of what he had seen, 
and added : ' If there is any one on this 
earth whom the Lord will listen to, it is 
George Washington; and I feel a pi'esenti- 
nient that under such a commander there 
can be no doubt of our eventuall}^ establish- 
ing our independence, and that God in his 
providence has willed it so.'" 

''Oil ! who ?hall know the might 
Of the words he uttered there? 
The fate of nations tliere was turn'd 

By the fervor of his prayer." — J. L. Chestkr. 



20 WASHINGTON AT 



CHAPTER II. 

Thy spirit, independence, let me sliare ! 

Lord of tlie lion heart and eagle eye ; 
Thy steps I follow witli my bosom bare,. 

Nor heed the storm that howls along the sky. 

Smollett. 

The impoverished condition of the army at 
Valley Forge must be nsciibed to a number 
of causes. Congress, being inexperienced 
in the management of affairs-, and particu- 
larly those of a military nature, h;id advised, 
as if in an enemy's country, the seizure of 
everything that could serve to suppl}^ the 
wants of the army. This measure, though 
promptly acted upon, and pursued with in- 
credible exertion, only procured a meagre 
supply for a few days. So unpopular was 
this movement, that an adverse disposition 
soon began to be manifested hy the inhabi- 



VALLEY FORGE. 21 

tants of the surrounding country. They 
drove their cattle into the woods and swamps, 
and hid aw\ay in secluded and secret places 
everything that was likely to be seized upon 
for the use of the army. Many preferred 
encountering every risk in conveying their 
property to Philadelphia, where they w^ere 
paid for it in hard cash by the British, rather 
than dispose of it to the patriot army in ex- 
change for the doubtful paper currency 
issued by Congress. So greatly had these 
bills depreciated, that many regarded them 
as utterly worthless. The still doubtful issue 
of the contest, and the instability of the 
government, rendered it very improbable 
that the vast quantity of paper money 
issued by Congress would ever be redeemed. 
Many untoward circumstances, impossible 
to be controlled, contributed to this state of 
affairs. The country around w^as deeply 
tainted with toryism; and the coercive 
measures advised by Congress had alienated 



22 WASHINGTON AT 

many who were previoiisl}^ well inclined to the 
cause. The peculations and deliquencies of 
avaricious contractors, and the want of effi- 
cient coniuiissaries, greatly increased the 
general distress, and contributed to those 
disasters that for a time threatened the army 
with dissolution. 

Scarcely were the troops settled in their 
encampment at Valley Forge, w^hen Wash- 
ington, apprised of an intended expedition 
by Howe to forage the islands of the Dela- 
ware and the country around Darby, resolved 
to detach a large force for the purpose of 
intercepting it. An inspection of the maga- 
zines to provision this force, revealed the 
appalling fact that scarcely a single day's 
suppl}^ remained in the camp. This fearful 
condition of affairs not only compelled the 
relinquishment of all offensive operations, 
but revealed the necessity of inmiediate aud 
active exertion in procuring supplies, if the 
army was to be saved from famine and 



VALLEY F E. a E . 23 

dissolution. The absolute powers conferred 
upon Washington by Congress not only im- 
powered him to levy upon the surrounding 
country, and seize upon everything that 
could be used to subsist the army, but that 
body had commanded that this measure 
should be resorted to; and the fatal neces- 
sity that existed urged its immediate and 
effective consummation. Foraging parties 
were sent out and swept the country around, 
but the greatest exertions could only procure 
a sufficiency for a few days. This meagre 
supply was soon exhausted, and all subse- 
quent exertions were but gleaning the field. 
Notwithstanding the pressing necessity that 
existed, Washington was greatly disinclined 
to this method of subsisting the army. The 
supplies ^vere meagre and unsatisffxctory, 
and could only be procured by incredible 
exertions. It ahenated the population whose 
goods were seized, and greatly strengthened 
the disaffected in their opposition to the 



24 WASHINGTON AT 

government, and added to their numbers. 
It ac<}ustomed his soldiers to disregard the 
private rights of the people ; it inclined 
them to lay hands upon the property of 
others, and to seize upon ^vhatever might be 
used for public service or contribute to per- 
sonal gratification ; it promoted lawlessness, 
and engendered a spirit of license and in- 
subordination that greatly endangered the 
safety of the camp. 

Washington, being fully aware of the im- 
possibility of subsisting an army any length 
of time by compulsory requisitions, had writ- 
ten to the various Governors of New Eng- 
land, urging them, in the most pressing lan- 
guage, to forward, with the greatest despatch, 
provisions for the army, particularly cattle 
which abounded in those provinces. The 
Commissaries had repaired thither by the 
direction of Congress, and made contracts for 
an immense supply of provisions. But here 
a new difficult}^ presented itself, and one 



VALLEY FORGE. 2o 

which threatened to frustrate the good ef- 
fects of these important measures. The re- 
verses sustained by the American arms, and 
the gloomy aspect of affairs in Pennsylvania, 
had caused the enormous issue of paper money, 
which Congress was continually making, to 
depreciate to one-fourth its nominal value, 
so that one hundred dollars in paper would 
command but twenty-five in specie, while 
articles of necessity had advanced nearly in 
the same ratio; so that in order to complete 
their contracts, the Commissaries had been 
obliged to conform to the current rates. But 
Congress disapproved of their action, and, 
unwisely attributing to cupidity what w^as 
really the effect of public distress, either re- 
fused to ratify their contracts, or postponed 
the execution of them. In addition to this, 
they passed a law, requiring the several 
States to establish by express laws the 
price of labor, and also to fix the price of all 
articles in common use among the people. 



26" WASHINGTON AT 

The bad effects of these laws Avere soon ap- 
parent; the citizens secreted their effects; 
the regular marts of trade were deserted ; 
and buyers could find nothing they "wanted 
either in the markets or elsewhere. 

While these operations were pending, and 
the much desired relief delayed by the tardy 
action of Congress, the American camp pre- 
sented a terrible picture of distress; gaunt 
famine prevailed; the soldiers w^ere enfee- 
bled by hunger and exposure ; and the want 
of everything necessary to preserve them in 
health, had propagated disease, which spread 
rapidly among them. Overcome by a mise- 
rable lassitude, the strong as well as the 
weak sank before it; the hospitals were 
crowded with miserable wretches who looked 
forward to no other relief but that of death. 

One of the severest necessities felt by 
them was the want of straw ; there was 
none in the camp, nor was there anything 
that could be used to raise them from the 



VALLEY FORGE. 27 

ground while they slept; the severe and 
nrdaous service of the day found no re- 
freshing repose at night— no other couch 
than the bai'e and frozen earth. This proved 
a most prolific source of disease, and more 
perished than by the sword. The hospital 
buildings were unsuitable in every respect, 
and overcrowded, w^ith none of the resources 
necessary to support and restore the sick. 
They were miserably destitute of furniture, 
and illy prepared in every respect for hos- 
pital purposes. The amount of distress pre- 
sented by these dreadful receptacles baf- 
fles description, and humanity must shud- 
der at what it failed to alleviate. Con- 
fined to a scanty and unwholesome diet — 
for the coarsest provisions could scarcely 
be procured — with no changes of linen, so 
indispensable to the comforts of the sick, and 
no medicine but what w^as made worse than 
useless by the pernicious adulteration of ava- 
ricious contractors, they proved rather re- 



28 WASHINGTON AT 

ceptacles for the dying than a refuge for the 
sick; and where the voice of kindness and 
sympathy alone shouhl have been heard, the 
dreary walls echoed only the wail of lamen- 
tation and despair. The soldiers regarded 
these pestilential abodes with horror, and 
many refused to enter them, prefen-ing the 
risk of perishing in the open air rather than 
do so. Their defective organization, and 
the absence of all sanitary regulations, had 
engendered the hospital fever, and hundreds 
of valuable lives were sacrificed that might, 
with proper assistance, have been saved for 
the service of their country. 

In February, out of nearly seventeen thou- 
sand men that had entered the camp the pre- 
vious December, scarcely five thousand Avere 
fit for duty ; the barracks were crowded with 
men unfitted for service for want of sufficient 
clothing to cover them ; and large numbers 
had found refuge in the neighboring farm- 
houses, unable to take the field from the 



VALLEY FORGE. 29 

same cause. It cannot be overlooked, that 
if General Hovre bad seized the opportunity 
and made a sudden attack on the camp, it 
would, in all probabilit3% have proved victo- 
rious ; for it would have been apparentl}^ 
impossible, with a starving and disabled 
army, for the American General to have 
successfully defended his intrenchments ; 
and had he been compelled to take the field 
in the midst of so severe a winter, with a 
force unequipped even for a summer cam- 
paign, it must have resulted in the dis- 
persion or entire destruction of his arm3^ 
Howe's apath}^ in neglecting so favorable an 
opportunity is unaccountable, and must be 
ascribed either to timidity or excessive pru- 
dence. 

The pernicious effects of the many evils 
that pressed so severely upon the Americin 
camp, began to be fearfully prominent. Al- 
though the brilliant example and patient en- 
durance of many of the officers, had snp- 
3* 



30 WASHINGTON AT 

pressed everything like a mutinous disposi- 
tion on the part of the troops, it cannot be 
denied that all system had greatly relaxed, 
discipline had declined, and restraint of any 
kind was but slightly acknowledged ; horses 
were permitted to wander into the fields and 
to be lost for w^ant of search, or perish mise- 
rably in the highways from neglect and ex- 
posure ; carts and other vehicles belonging 
to the army were permitted to encumber the 
roads useless and disregarded, which would 
have been of incalculable service if properly 
employed ; while hundreds of men were con- 
strained to perform, as they renlly did with 
incredible patience and exertion, the duty of 
beasts of burden, in dragging firewood, and 
assisting in the transportation of stores for 
the camp. In this manner many of the evils 
resulting from the defective organization of 
the camp were remedied to a considerable 
extent ; but how can we sufficiently appre- 
ciate the patriotism of these self-sacrificing 



VALLEY FORGE. 81 

men, who maintained with unshaken forti- 
tude, in the midst of frost and famine, their 
pledge of fidelity to their country; and firmly 
endured every vicissitude that attends desti- 
tution and misery, rather than succumb with 
dishonor, and disappoint the hopes of their 
country in the hour of gloom and despair? 
Washington was untiring in his efforts to 
ameliorate the sufferings of his army, and to 
the love and veneration with which the sol- 
diers regarded their beloved Commander, 
must be attributed the continued existence 
of the army through that perilous period. 
His importunities at length awakened Con- 
gress to the imperative necessity that ex- 
isted for retracing their steps, w^hich they 
did by advising the several States to repeal 
their laws on the subject of prices ; they with- 
drew their restrictions on the purchasing com- 
missaries, and permitted their contracts to 
take effect. The great w^ant of wheeled car- 
riages, however, greatly delayed the arrival 



6A WASHINGTON AT 

of the supplies, and so much time was lost 
ill procuring these conveyances, that much 
of it was wasted or destroyed before the 
convoys reached the camp. In the mean- 
time, to save the army from dissolution, 
Washington ordered a general forage of the 
surrounding country to procure supplies. 
General Greene swept the country in the 
neighborhood of the camp; Captains Lee and 
M'Lane, both active and zealous officers, 
were despatched to the States of Maryland 
and Delaware, and Colonel Tilghman to New 
Jersey. These commissions were carried 
out wuth great zeal and activity; they pene- 
trated into the most secret pLices, and found 
vast quantities of supplies hidden awa}^ ; 
in the marshy islands of the Delaware par- 
ticularly, they found hid<len large droves of 
cattle intended for the Philadelphia market, 
but which they soon compelled to take an- 
other direction towards the camp. These 
suppUes were timely and abundant, and went 



VALLEY FORGE. 33 

far towards relieving the pressing necessities 
of the camp. 

Amid the numerous calamities that pressed 
with such severity upon the camp, there 
was none which caused so much anxiety 
to Washington as the pernicious exam- 
ple afforded by some of the officers, who had 
openly declared their intentions of quitting 
the service. Owing to the great depreciation 
of the paper money issued by Congress and 
the immense advance on articles of consump- 
tion, in consequence also of the season and 
the existing commercial difficulties, many 
officers had found it impossible to live upon 
their pay ; those who were destitute of pri- 
vate resources were compelled to live in the 
most parsimonious manner, or to contract 
debts which they could not liquidate; and 
many who possessed private fortunes had 
greatly embarrassed themselves by en- 
deavouring to maintain an appearance suita- 
ble to their rank in the army. A large 



34 WASHINGTON AT 

number had already resigned their commis- 
sions and returned to their families. These 
resignations, unfortunatel}', were not confined 
to officers of the lowest grade, but included 
some of the bravest and the worthiest in the 
army. Their quitting the service at this period 
cannot be considered wholly a dereliction 
of duty; they considered the pitiable condi- 
tion to which they were reduced as degrad- 
ing ; and although willing to accord all that 
patriotism could demand or honour require in 
the service of their country, they could not 
endure a condition incompatible with their 
sense of personal honour and self-respect, 
and hence their disinclination to the service. 
Washington was greatly alarmed at the 
spread of this spirit of disaffection, and was 
untiring in his efforts to stay its progress. 
lie spared neither promises nor encourage- 
ment in his efforts to do so; he earnestly 
importuned Congress to take speedy and 
effective action in the matter; he particularly 



VALLEY FORGE. 35 

directed their attention to the necessity of 
securing to the officers half pay for life, or 
for a definite term of years dating from the 
expiration of the war; he urged, in the most 
forcible language, the necessity of thorough 
measures; he told them it was in vain to 
rely solely upon the efforts of patriotism 
and individual sacrifices to maintain a 
protracted war; and that it would be impossi- 
ble to bring the struggle to a successful issue 
without the incentive of interest or hope of 
reward. Although the struggle had furnished 
the most brilliant examples of patriotism and 
self-sacrifices, and many continued to act 
from the same noble impulses, yet they were 
wholly inadequate for the support of the 
war; that it w^as too much to hope for, that 
large bodies of men could be held together 
without the generous support of the govern- 
ment; and as it was impossible to entirely 
control the actions of men, it would be bet- 
ter to secure a support so indispensable to 



36 WASHINGTON AT 

the states by appealing to their interest, or 
offering any inducements that would content 
them. These propositions were not acted upon 
as promptly as was desired by Washing- 
ton ; they were coldly received by Congress ; 
they considered them as extraordinary, and 
manifested at first very little inclination to 
grant them ; they considered the grants of 
lands already made to officers and soldiers as 
sufficient to gratify the wishes of moderate 
men. They were soon awakened from this 
state of indifference by the necessity that 
existed for the most effective operations; 
they decreed an allowance of half pay for 
life to the officers of the army, with the 
reserved power to commute it to the sum of 
six years' half pay if considered expedient. 
Subsequently they passed another resolution, 
restricting the allowance of half pay to seven 
years, dating from the end of the war. 
These measures, unfortunately, were taken 
too late to have as salutav}^ an effect as was 



VALLEY FORGE. 37 

lioped for; a large number of officers had 
already resigned their commissions and re- 
turned to their families. This serious defec- 
tion might have been prevented, to a great 
extent, by a more liberal and spontaneous 
eifort on the part of the government. 

Not\vithst;niding the unremitting exertions 
of Washington to prepare the army for the 
ensuing campaign, the advancing season 
found them but scantily prepared, and the 
spring had entirely passed before the organi- 
zation of the army was completed. By a 
decree of the 27th of May, the infantr}^, 
cavalry, artillery, and engineers, were organ- 
ized upon a uniform system throughout the 
arm}^ ; up to this time great confusion had pre- 
vailed in the service, owing to the great dis- 
parity existing not only between the regi- 
ments of different States, but those belong- 
ing to the same State. In addition to the 
complete organization of the army, it had 

been rendered far more eff'eclive in its disci- 
4 



38 WASHINGTON AT 

pline than it had ever before been, by the 
services of the Baron Steuben, a veteran com- 
mander and disciplinarian from the army of 
Frederick the Great; he joined the Ameri- 
can camp at Valley Forge, in Mny, 1778, as 
a volunteer, and was almost immediately ap- 
pointed Inspector Geiiernl with the rank and 
pay of Mnjor General; the nppoiiitraent was 
accompanied with the most flattering resolu- 
tions from Congress ; his services were of 
incalculable benefit to the arm}^ and the 
effects of his rigid discipline were seen in 
the skillful manoeuvring, and in the firmness 
and decision of the troops in the ensuing 
campaign. Pie was a brave man, devoted to 
liberty, and a warm-hearted, generous friend 
of America. 

During the occupancy of Philadelphia by 
the British, they evinced but little activity, 
and their stay was unmarked by any impor- 
tant event; they contented themselves with 
foraging the country around Philadelphia, 



VALLEY FORGE. 39 

and by frequent excursions into the nearer 
parts of New Jersey, to procure supplies 
and secure the roads. These enterprises 
were of the most ordin.'uy character, with 
one or two exceptions, — in one instance, in 
the month of March, a party of Americans 
were surprised at Hancock House, near the 
-Bridges of Quinton and Hancock, and were 
ruthlessly massacred while appealing for 
quarter ; they were completely surprised 
whilst sleeping in their beds, and though no 
resistance was made, not a man escaped in 
this unmitigated murder. They also at- 
tempted to surprise the encampment at 
Barren Hill on the left side of the Schuyl- 
kill, under the command of the Marquis de 
la Fayette, but were completely foiled by his 
activity and courage. 

While these events were passing on land, 
the naval contests of the Americans were 
marked by the most brilliant success. Brit- 
ish commerce suiTered incredible losses by 



40 WASHINGTON AT 

the daring and enterprise of American cruis- 
ers, they conquered hiindi'eds of vessels, and 
swept many a rich prize from off the coast of 
England itself These maritime conquests 
were brilliant and decided, and afforded a 
cheering contrast to the gloom and depres- 
sion of the land operations. 

In the meanwhile, Sir William Howe, be- 
coming dissatisfied with the course of his 
government at home, had offered his resig- 
nation, which was promptly accepted, and 
Sir Henry Clinton appointed his successor. 
In his instructions was ordered the imme- 
diate evacuation of Philadelphia. He took 
command of the army on the Ilth of May, 
and immediately began his preparations for 
departure; in the meanwhile, Washington, 
informed of his evident intention to abandon 
the city, placed his arm}^ in a condition to 
I'esume hostilities at once. 

On the morning of the 18th of June, a 
little before day-hreak, the British left the 



VALLEY FORGE. 41 

city and commenced crossing the Delaware at 
Gloucester point; before noon the entire 
army had crossed; and toward evening the 
whole force was encamped around Iladdon- 
field, on the south side of Cooper's creek, 
about five miles south-east of Camden. 

Washington was not informed of the 
evacuation of the city until the British had 
actually crossed the Delaware; being satisfied 
of Clinton's intention to push forward 
towards New York, he immediately broke up 
his camp, and pushed forward with nearly 
his entire force towards the Dehiware for 
the purpose of intercepting him. General 
Arnold, who w^as unfitted for active service 
by a severe wound, took possession of Phila- 
delphia with a small detachment. In the 
brilliant campaign that followed, the rnpid 
marches, the spirited manoeuvring, and well 
contested field of Monmouth, gave unequivo- 
cal proof, how little the patriot army were 
broken in spirit, or diminished in courage, 

4* 



42 WASHINGTON AT 

by the dreadful sufferings of Ihat fenrM 
Aviuter at Valley Forge. 

It would be tedious, in a sketch like this, 
to advert to the many intrigues and cabals 
that distressed Washington, and embarrassed 
the government at tliis period; many indi- 
viduals prominent in military and civil life, 
were implicated in these agitations ; those who 
are acquainted with the history of the Revo- 
lution, must be familiar with the circum- 
stances, and their results upon the past and 
present history of the country. There were 
several attempts to subvert the government, 
and to supplant Washington in the command 
of the army. Although fuWy apprised of the 
artifices employed to diminish his well eained 
reputation, his exalted mind exhibited that 
constancy and moderation, that evinced his 
entire subjugation of self to the great work 
before him ; he indulged in no secret discon- 
tent against his country; his zeal for duty 
experienced no remission ; his enemies were 



VALLEY FORGE. 43 

unnoticed and rendered powerless by his 
silence, and in his devotion to liis country he 
seems to have foigotten himself. 

One of the most insidious of these 
treasonable efforts, was the extraordinary 
letters written by Jacob Duche to General 
Washington, imploring him to abandon the 
American cause, and to assist in the subver- 
sion of the attempt to establish the indepen- 
dence of the country. Duche was the friend 
of Washington, and had officiated as chaplain 
in the first Continental Congress; he was then 
rector of Christ Church in Philadelphia, and 
was a resident of the city during its occu- 
pancy by the British. This event, though 
but lightly touched upon by the historian, 
and but casually mentioned in revolutionary 
writings, was perhaps the most critical for 
the country and its hopes of any similar 
attempt during the struggle; this document 
was as fatal to the peace and reputation of 
of its author, as its rejection by Washington 



44 WASHINGTON AT 

is the grandest monument to that undevijit- 
ing honour and integrity, that shone with 
such constant splendour throughout his illus- 
trious career. 




THE REV. JACOB DUCHE, . 
RECTOR OF CHRIST CHURCH & ST P ETE RS. "P H I LA D - 



VALLEY FORGE. 45 



CHAPTER III. 

The subject of this memoir, Jacob Duche, 
was born in Philadelphia, about the year 
1738. His Himily was of Huguenot origin, 
and came over to this country among the 
early settlers who accompanied or followed 
William Penn, though at what precise date 
we have been unable to ascertain. 

He graduated in 1757, at the Pennsyl- 
vania University, in Philadelphin, and pur- 
sued his theological studies in the same city; 
after which he went to England for the pur- 
pose of being ordained to the ministry of 
the Episcopal Church. On his return to 
Philadelphia, he continued to officiate for 
manj^ 3'ears as assistant minister and rector. 

The early period of his life is marked by 
no particular incidents. He was gifted with 



4G WASHINGTON AT 

a peculiar style of pulpit eloquence, which was 
pronounced to be very effective, and which 
procured for him a considerable degree of 
popularity amongst the parishioners of the 
churches in which he ofKiciated. In 1771, 
he published liis " Letters of Tamoc Caspi- 
pinaj' a kind of half political and half reli- 
gious work, having reference to his connec- 
tion with Christ Church and the English 
politics of the times. The name was com- 
posed of the initial letters of the words — 
'' The Assistant Minister of Christ Church and 
St.- Peter s, in Philadelphia, in North America^ 

It is probable that the name of Jacob 
DucHE would have long been forgotten with 
those of many far greater men, but for its 
connection wdth the important events that 
were then transpiring. 

On the 5th of September, 1774, there 
assembled in Philadelphia, in Carpenter's 
Hall, the first Continental Congress; this 
august body was composed of such men as 



VALLEY FORGE. 47 

George Washington, Patrick Henry, Peyton 
Randolph, and a brilhant galaxy of others, 
numbering in all fifty-one delegates, and re- 
presenting all the Colonies excepting Georgia. 
The first two days were spent in organizing 
and arranging preliminaries, when it was 
proposed by Mr. Gushing, of Massachusetts, 
that their sessions should be opened Avith 
prayer. After some discussion, arising from 
the fact that the delegates were of different 
religious denominations, it was suggested by 
Samuel Adams, '* that Mr. Duche, an Eng- 
lish Episcopal Clergyman, might be desired 
to read prayers before the Congress to-mor- 
row morning." This motion had the effect 
of producing unanimity of feeling, Mr. Adams 
being himself a strong Congregationalist. In 
the course of the day a rumor reached Phi- 
ladelphia, that Boston had been cannonaded 
by the British. It produced a strong sensa- 
tion; and when Congress met on the follow- 
ing morning, (the 7th,) the effect of the in- 



48 WASHINGTON AT 

telligence was vi^sible in every countenance. 
Mr. Duche appeared in his canonicals, and 
attended by his clerk, he read with great so- 
lemnity several prayers in the established 
form, the clerk making the responses. After 
which he read the Psalms for the seventh 
morning of the month, among which was the 
Thirty-fifth Psalm, commencing thus : 

*' Plead my cause, Lord, with them that strive 
with me; fi<;ht against them that fight against me. 

" Lay hand upon the sliicld and buckler, and stand 
Tip to help me. 

"Bring forth the spear and stop the way against 
them that persecute me : say unto my soul, I am thy 
salvation," &c. 

The singular appropriateness of this ap- 
peared to strike all present. John Adams, 
in a letter to his w'ife on the day followdng, 
thus describes the scene : 

'' I never saw a greater effect upon an 
audience. It seemed as if Heaven had 
ordained that Psalm to be read on that 
morning. After this Mr. Duche, unexpect- 



VALLEY FORGE. 49 

edly to every body, strack out into an ex- 
temporary prayer^ which filled the bosom of 
every man present, I must confess I never 
heard a better pra3^er, or one so well pro- 
nounced." For the benefit of our readers, 
who mny not have seen it, we will give this 
prayer in full : 

^^0 Lord our Heavenly Fcitlier, higli and niiglity 
King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from tliy 
throne behold all the dwellers on earth, and reignest 
with 230wer supreme and uncontrolled over all Idng- 
doms, empires, and governments ; look down in mercy, 
we beseech thee, on these American States, who have 
fled to thee from the rod of the oppressor, and 
thrown themselves on thy gracious protection, de- 
siring to be henceforth dependent only on thee ; to thee 
they have appealed for the righteousness of their 
cause; to thee do they now look up for that counte- 
nance and support which thou alone canst give; take 
them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under thy nurtur- 
ing care ; give them wisdom in council, and valor in 
the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel 
adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of 
their cause; and if they still persist in their sangui- 
nary purposes. Oh ! let the voice of thine own unerring 
justice sounding in their hearts, constrain them to 
drop the weapons of v,'ar from their unnerved Lands 
5 



50 WASHINGTON AT 

ill the clay of battle. Be thou present, God of wis- 
tlom, and direct the councils of this honorable assem- 
bly; enable them to settle things on the best and 
surest foundation, that the scene of blood may be 
speedily closed, that order, harmony, and peace may 
be effectually restored; and truth and justice, religion 
and piety, prevail and flourish amongst thy people. 
Preserve the health of their bodies and the vigor of 
their minds; shower down on tliem and the miUions 
they here represent, such temporal blessings as thou 
seest expedient for them in this world, and crown them 
with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this 
we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus 
Christ, thy Son, our Saviour. Amen !'^ 



The solemnity of the occasion, and the 
eloquent manner in which this prayer was 
delivered, seemed to affect eveiy one pre- 
sent, particularly Washington, who, it is re- 
marked, while others stood, went through 
the ceremony in a kneeling postm-e. 

By a vote of Congress, Duche was thanked 
for the eloquent prayer he delivered on this 
occasion. 

At this time, he was assistant rector of 
two churches, Christ Church and St. Peter's; 



VALLEY FORGE. 51 

and in the year following, at the death of 
Dr. Richard Peters, the rector of these 
churches, Mr. Duche was appointed to the 
rectorship. 

In July, 1776, Mr. Duche was appointed 
chaplain to Congress, with a salary of one 
hundred and fifty dollars. 

He held his situation as chaplain about 
three months, and then resigned ; his salary 
he bestowed upon the families of those slain 
in battle. Whether his piinciples had under- 
gone a change at this time we cannot say; he 
had never evinced much force of character 
in his opposition to the British government, 
and his participation in the Hevolutionary 
movement can be considered nothing more 
than a tacit acquiescence in the events trans- 
piring around him; he must, however, have 
continued obnoxious to the tories, for it 
appears that a, day previous to Howe's entr}^ 
into Philadelphia, he was seized by a party 
of them and thrown into prison. 



52 WASHINGTON AT 

When the British were in possession of 
Philadelphia, Duche was much in the com- 
pany of the officers, whose congenial society 
and polite manners seem to have operated 
upon his pliant disposition, and to swny a 
mind not sufficiently strong to resist the in- 
fluences at work around him. If we can 
believe his own assertions, he had never 
entered ardently into the American cause, 
and when appointed chaplain to Congress, 
he received the appointment with regret, 
and performed its duties with reluctance. 
His early resignation of the office, and the 
bestowal of his salary on the families of 
those slain in battle, seem rather to have 
arisen from a desire to avoid all complicity 
in the cause, than from any benevolent 
motive. His English education, and the 
allegiance to his sovereign inculcated by the 
religion he professed, no doubt contributed 
to w^eaken the adverse position he had at 
first assumed toward the mother country. 



VALLEY FORGE. 53 

Though possessed of an elegant and refined 
mind, it was unfortunately connected with a 
weak and facile disposition, and entirely 
wanting in those strong qualities necessary 
to confront the storm of war that was lower- 
ing over his country. 

In his letter, he distinctly disclaims all 
coercion on the part of the British, and 
assumes the entire responsibility of the act, 
so that whatever of infamy or disgrace may 
be attached to it, must properly belong to 
himself. Bad his intervention been purely 
the dictates of a Christian heart, anxious to 
save the effusion of blood and restore peace 
to a distracted country, he would have re- 
tained his honour, and posterity would have 
vindicated his character though it may have 
condemned the act; but when he descended 
from this high position, to vilify the noble 
men who had pledged their lives, their for- 
tunes, and their sacred honours in the con- 
test, and to deride the efforts of those who 



54 WASHINGTON AT 

had forsaken home and family to endure the 
vicissitudes of war^ he assumed a position in 
American histor}^ in which he has but one 
associate, and from which the charitable his- 
torian will never desire to withdraw^ the veil, 
concealing the only blot that dims the lustre 
of our Ptevolutionary fame. 

The bearer of this letter to General Wash- 
ington was an American lad}', the daughter 
of Doctor Thomas Graeme of Pennsylvania, 
then the wife of Hugh Ferguson. She w^as 
a woman of superior character and attain- 
ments, and, although the wife of an enemy 
to the countr}^, had the confidence and 
respect of leading patriots. It is supposed 
she w^as not acquainted with the contents of 
the letter, and that her motive was entirely 
pure. When the letter began to be circu- 
lated, she was at first suspected as a British 
emissary; she lived, how^ever, to see all these 
suspicions dissipated. - 




WASHINGTON AND THE DUCHE LETTER. 
VA LLE^' FORGE 177 7. 



VALLEY FORGE. OD 

FROM THE REVEREND JACOB DUCHE. 

[Philadelphia], 8 October, 1777 * 

Sir, 
If this letter should find you in Council, or in the 
field, before you read another sentence, I beg you to 
take the first opportunity of retiring, and weighing its 
important contents. You are perfectly acquainted 
with the part I formerly took in the present unhappy 
contest. I was, indeed, among the first to bear my 
public testimony against having any recourse to 
threats, or indulging a thought of an armed oppo- 
sition. 

* This extraordinary letter was iinmediafely transmitted by 
"Washington to Congress. In a letter to tlie President of 
Congress, dated October 16th, which accompanied it, he 
wrote as follows : 

'• I yestt-rduy, through tlie hands of Mrs. Ferguson, of 
Ciahani Park, received a letter, of a very curious and extra- 
ordinai-y nature, from Mr. Jacob Duche, whicli I ];ave 
thought proper to transmit to Congress. To this ridiculous, 
illihci-al perfoi-mance, I madeasliort reply, by desiring the 
bearer of it, if she should hereafter, by any accident, meet MV. 
Duche, to tell him I should have returned it unopened, it I 
had had any idea of the contents ; observing, at the same 
time, that T highly disappi'oved tlie intercourse she seemed to 
have been carrying on, and expected it would be discontinued. 
Notwithstanding the authors assertion, I cannot but sus- 
pect that the measure did not originate with him, and that 
he was induced to it by the liope of establishing his interest 
and peace more effectually with the enemy." 



56 WAS TI I N G T N AT 

The current, however, was too strong for my feeble 
efforts to resist. I wished to follow my countrymen 
as far only as virtue, and the riiihteousness of their 
cause, would permit me. I was, however, prevailed 
on, among the rest of my clerical brethren of this 
city, to gratify the pressing desires of my fellow- 
citizens, by preaching a sermon to the second city 
battalion. I was pressed to publish this sermon, and 
reluctantly consented. From a personal attachment, 
of nearly twenty years' standing, and a high respect 
for your character, in private as well as public life, I 
took the liberty of dedicating this sermon to you. I 
had your afi'ectionate thanks for my performance, in a 
letter, wherein was expressed, in the most delicate 
and obliging terms, your regard for me, and your 
wishes for a continuance of my friendship and appro- 
bation of your conduct. Further than this I in- 
tended not to proceed. My sermon speaks for itself, 
and wholly disclaims the idea of independency. My 
sentiments were well known to my friends. I com- 
municated them, without reserve, to many respectable 
members of Congress, who expressed their warm ap- 
probation of it then. I persisted, to the very last 
moment, to use the prayers for my Soverei<i:n, though 
threatened with insults from the violence of a party. 

Upon the declaration of independency, I called my 
vestry, and solemnly put the question to them, whether 
they thought it best, for the peace and welfiire of the 
congregation, to shut up the churches, or to continue 
the service, without using the prayers for the Royal 



VALLEY FORGE. hi 

Family. Tliis was the sad alternative. I eonchided 
to abide by their decision, ;is I could not have time to 
consult my spiritual superiors in England. They de- 
termined it most expedient, under such critical circum- 
stances, to keep open tlie churches, that the congrega- 
tions might not be dispersed, which we had great 
reason to apprehend. 

A very few days after the fatal declaration of inde- 
pendency, I received a letter from Mr. Hancock, sent 
by express to Germantown, where my family were for 
the summer season, acquainting me I was appointed 
Chaplain to the Congress, and desired my attendance next 
morning, at nine o'clock. Surprised and distressed, as 
I was, by an event I was not prepared to expect; 
obliged to give an immediate attendance, without the 
opportunity of consulting my friends, I easily ac- 
cepted the appointment. I could have but one mo- 
tive for taking this step. I thought the churches in 
danger, and hoped, by this means, to have been instru- 
mental in preventing those ills I had so much reason 
to apprehend. I can, however, with truth, declare, I 
then looked upon independency rather as an expedi- 
ent, and hazardous, or, indeed, thrown out in terrorem, 
in order to procure some favorable terms, than a mea- 
sure that was seriously persisted in, at all events. 
My sudden change of conduct will clearly evince this 
to have been my idea of the matter. 

Upon the return of the Committee of Congress, ap- 
pointed to confer with Lord Howe, I soon discerned 
their whole intentions. The diiferent accounts which 



58 WASHINGTON AT 

eacli member gave of this conference, the time they 
took to make up the matter for public view, and the 
amtizing disagreements between the newspaper ac- 
counts, and the relation I njyself had from the mouth 
of one of the Committee, convinced me there must 
have been some unfair and ungenerous procedure. 
This determination to treat on no other strain than 
that of independency, which put it out of his Lord- 
ship's power to mention any terms at all, was sufhcient 
proof to me that independency was the idol they had 
long wished to set up, and that, rather than sacrifice 
this, they would deluge their country with blood. 
From this moment I determined upon my resignation, 
and, in the beginning of October, 1776, sent it, in 
form, to Mr. Hancock, after having officiated only two 
months and three weeks; and from that time, as far 
as my safety would permit, I have been opposed to all 
their measures. 

This circumstantial account of my conduct, I think 
due to the friendship you were so obliging as to ex- 
press for me, and, I hope, will be sufficient to justify 
my seeming inconsistencies in the part I have acted. 

And now, dear Sir, suffer me, in the language of 
truth and real aifection, to address myself to you. All 
the world must be convinced you are engaged in the 
service of your country from motives perfectly disin- 
terested. You risked every thing that was dear to 
you, abandoned the sweets of domestitJ-life, whicdi your 
affluent fortune can give the uninterrupted enjoyment 
of. But had you, could you have had, the least idea 



VALLEYFORGE. 59 

of matters being carried to such a daiiirerous extre- 
mity ? Your most intimate friends shuddered at the 
tliought of a separation from the mother country, and 
I took it for granted that your sentiments coincided 
with theirs. What, then, can be the consequence of 
this rash and violent measure, and degeneracy of re- 
presentation, confusion of councils, blunders without 
number? The most respectable characters have with- 
drawn themselves, and are succeeded by a great majo- 
rity of illiberal and violent men. Take an impartial 
view of the present Congress, and what can you ex- 
pect from them ? Your feelings must be greatly hurt 
by the representation of your native Province. You 
have no longer a Randolph, a Bland, ov a Braxton, 
men, whose names will ever be revered, whose de- 
mands never ran above the first ground on which they 
set out, and whose truly glorious and virtuous senti- 
ments I have frequently heard with rapture from their 
own lips. Oh ! my dear Sir, what a sad contrast of 
characters now presents; others, whose friends can 
ne'er mingle with your own. Your Harrison alone 
remains, and he disgusted with the unworthy asso- 
ciates. 

As to those of my own Province, some of them are 
so obscure, that their very names were never in my 
ears before, and others have only been distinguished 
for the weakness of their understandings, and the vio- 
lence of their tempers. One alone I except from the 
general charge; a man of virtue, dragged reluctantly 
into their measures, and restrained, by some false ideas 



60 WASHINGTON AT 

of lion or, from retreating, after having gone too far. 
You cannot be at a loss to cliscorer whose name answers 
to this character. 

From the New England provinces can you find one 
that, as a gentleman, you could wish to associate with, 
unless the soft and mild address of Mr. Hancock can 
atone for his want of every other qualification neces- 
sary for the seat which he fills? Bankrupts, attor- 
neys, and men of desperate fortunes are his colleagues. 
Maryland no longer sends a Tilghman and a Protest- 
ant Carroll. Carolina has lost her Lynch; and the 
elder Middleton has retired. Are the dregs of Con- 
gress, then, still to influence a mind like yours? 
These are not the men you engaged to serve; these 
are not the men that America has chosen to represent 
her. Most of them were chosen by a little, low fac- 
tion, and the few gentlemen that are among them now 
are well known to lie on the balance, and looking up 
to your hand alone to turn the beam. ^Tis you, Sir, 
and you only, that support the present Congress; of 
this you must be fully sensible. Long before they 
left Philadelphia, their dignity and consequence were 
gone; what must it be now, since their precipitate re- 
treat? I write with freedom, but without invective ; 
I know these things to be true, and I write to one 
whose own observation must have convinced him that 
it is so. 

After this view of the Congress, turn to the army. 
The whole world knows that its only existence de- 
pends upon you ; that your death or captivity dis- 



VALLEY FORGE. 61 

perses it in a moment, and that there is not a man on 
that side the question, in America, capable of succeed- 
ing you. As to the army itself, what have you to ex- 
pect from them? Have they not frequently aban-, 
doned you yourself, in the hour of extremity ? Can 
you have the least confidence in a set of undisciplined 
men and officers, many of whom have been taken from 
the lowest of the people, without principle, without 
courage ? Take away them that surround your per- 
son, how very few there are you can ask to sit at your 
table ! As to your little navy, of that little, what is 
left? Of the Delaware fleet, part are taken, and the 
rest must soon surrender. Of those in the other pro- 
vinces, some are taken, one or two at sea, and others 
lying unmanned and unrigged in your harbors. 

And, now, where are your resources ? Oh ! my 
dear Sir, how sadly have you been abused by a faction 
void of truth, and void of tenderness to you and your 
country ! They have amused you with hopes of a de- 
claration of war on the part of France. Believe me, from 
the best authority, it was a fiction from the first. Early 
in the year 1776, a French gentleman was introduced 
to me, with whom I became intimately acquainted. 
His business, to all appearance, was to speculate in 
the mercantile way. But, I believe it will be found 
that in his country he moved in a higher sphere. 
He saw your cause. He became acquainted with all 
your military preparations. He was introduced to 
Congress, and engaged with them in a commercial 
contract. In the course of our intimacy, he has fre- 
6 



62 V/ A SUING TON AT 

quently told p.ie, that he hoped the Americans would 
never think of independency. He gave me his reasons : 
" Independency can never be supported, unless France 
should declare war against England. I well know 
the state of her finances. Years to come will not put 
them in a situation to enter upon a breach with Eng- 
land. At this moment, there are two pL-v'ties in the 
Court of Versailles; one enlisted under the Duke de 
Choiseul, the other under the Count Maurepas. 
Choiseul has no chance of succeeding, though he is 
violent for Avar; Maurepas must get the better; he is 
for economy and peace." This was his information, 
which I mentioned to several members of Congress. 
They treated it as a fable, depending entirely on Dr. 
Franklin's intelligence. 

The truth of the matter is this : — Dr. Franklin built 
upon the success of Choiseul. Upon his arrival in 
France, he found him out of place, his counsels repro- 
bated, and his party dwindled into an insignificant 
faction. This you may depend upon to be the true 
state of affairs in France, or the court of Dr. F.; and, 
further, by vast numbers of letters found on board 
prizes taken by the king's ships, it appears that all 
commerce with the merchants, through whom all your 
supplies have been conveyed, will be at an end, the 
letters being full of complaints of no remittances from 
America, and many individuals having generally suf- 
fered. 

From your friends in England you have nothing to 
expect. Their numbers have diminished to a cipher; 



VALLEY FORGE. 63 

the spirit of the whole nation is in activity; a few 
sounding names among tlie nobility, though perpetu- 
all}" ringing in your ears, are without character, with- 
out influence. Disappointed ambition has made them 
desperate, and they only wish to make the deluded 
Americans instruments of revenge. All orders and 
ranks of men in Great Britain are now unanimous, 
and determined to risk their all with content. Trade 
and manufactures are found to flourish, and new chan- 
nels are continually offering, that will perhaps more 
than supply the loss of the old. 

In America your harbors are blocked up, your 
cities fall one after another; fortress after fortress, 
battle after battle is lost. A British army, after hav- 
ing passed unmolested through a vast extent of coun- 
try, have possessed themselves of the Capital of Ame- 
rica. How unequal the contest! How fruitless the 
expense of blood! Under so many discouraging cir- 
cumstances, can virtue, can honor, can the love of 
your country, prompt you to proceed? Humanity 
iti^elf, and sure humanity is no stranger to your breast, 
calls upon you to desist. Your army must perish for 
want of common necessaries, or thousands of inno- 
cent families must perish to support them; v/herever 
they encamp, the country must be impoverished; 
wherever they march, the troops of Britain will pur- 
sue, and must complete the destruction which Ame- 
rica herself has begun. Perhaps it may be said, it is 
better to die than to be made slaves. This, indeed, is 
a splendid maxim in theory, and perhaps, in some in- 



64 WASHINGTON AT 

stances, may be found experimentally true ; but when 
there is the least probability of an happy accommoda- 
tion, surely wisdom and humanity call for some sacri- 
fices to be made, to prevent inevitable destruction. 
You well know there is but one invincible bar to such 
an accommodation; could this be removed, other obsta- 
cles might readily be removed. It is to you, and you 
alone, your bleeding country looks, and calls aloud for 
this sacrifice. Your arm alone has strength sufficient 
to remove this bar. May heaven inspire you with 
this glorious resolution of exerting your strength, at 
this crisis, and immortalizing yourself as friend and 
guardian to your country! Your penetrating eye 
needs not more explicit language to discern my mean- 
ing. AVith that prudence and delicacy, therefore, of 
which I know you possessed, represent to Congress the 
indispensable necessity of rescinding the hasty and 
ill-advised declaration of independency. Recommend, 
and you have an undoubted right to recommend, an 
immediate cessation of hostilities. Let the contro- 
versy be taken up where that declaration left it, and 
where Lord Howe certainly expected to find it left. 
Let men of clear and impartial characters, in or out of 
Congress, liberal in their sentiments, heretofore inde- 
pendent in their fortunes, — and some such may bo 
found in America, — be appointed to confer with his 
Majesty's Commissioners. Let them, if they please, 
propose some well-digested constitutional plan, to lay 
before them at the commencement of the negotiation. 
When they have gone thus far, I am confident the 



VALLEY FORGE. 65 

usual happy consequences will ensue; unanimity will 
immediately take place through the different pro- 
vinces; thousands vrho are now ardently wishing and 
praying for such a measure, will step forth, and de- 
clare themselves the zealous advocates for constitu- 
tional liberty; and millions will bless the hero that 
left the field of war, to decide this most important 
contest with the weapons of wisdom and humanity. 

Oh! Sir, let no false ideas of worldly honor deter 
you from engaging in so glorious a task. Whatever 
censure may be thrown out by mean, illiberal minds, 
your character will rise in the estimation of the vir- 
tuous and noble. It will appear with lustre in the an- 
nals of history, and form a glorious contrast to that of 
those who have fought to obtain conquest, and gratify 
their own ambition by the destruction of their species 
and the ruin of their country. Be assured, Sir, that 
I write not this under the eye of any British officer, 
or person connected with the British army, or minis- 
try. The sentiments I express are the real sentiments 
of my own heart, such as I have long held, and which I 
should have made known to you by letter before, had I 
not fully expected an opportunity of a private confer- 
ence. When you passed through Philadelphia on your 
way to Wilmington, I was confined, by a severe fit of the 
gravel, to my chamber; I have since continued much 
indisposed, and times have been so very distressing, 
that I had neither spirit to write a letter, nor an op- 
portunity to convey it when written ; nor do I yet know 
by what means I shall get these sheets to your hands. 



66 WASHINGTON AT 

I would fain hope that I have said nothing by 
whicli your delicacy can be in the least hurt. If I 
have, I assure you it has been without the least inten- 
tion, and, therefore, your candor will lead you to for- 
give me. I have spoke freely of Congress and of the 
army; but what I have said is partly from my own 
knowledge, and partly from the information of some 
respectable members of the former, and some of the 
best officers of the latter. I would not offend the 
meanest person upon earth ; what I say to you I say 
in confidence, to answer what I cannot but deem a 
most vcduahle 'purpose. I love my country; I love 
you; but to the love of truth, the love of peace, and 
the love of God, I hope I should be enabled, if called 
upon to the trial, to sacrifice every other inferior love. 
If the arguments made use of in this letter should 
have so much influence as to engage you in the glori- 
ous work which I have warmly recommended, I shall 
ever deem my success the highest temporal favor that 
Providence could grant me. Your interposition and 
advice, I am confident, would meet with a favorable 
reception from the authority under which you act. 

If it should not, you have an infallible recourse 
still left; negotiate for your cituntry at the head of 
your army. After all, it may appear presumption, as 
an individual, to address himself to you on a subject 
of sucli magnitude, or to say what measures would 
best secure the interest and welfare of a whole Conti- 
nent. The friendly and favorable opinion you have 
always expressed for me, emboldens me to undertake 



VALLEY FORGE. 67 

it, and wliicli has greatly added to the weight of this 
motive. I have been strongly impressed with a sense 
of duty upon the occasion, which left my conscience 
uneasy, and my heart afflicted, till I fully discharged 
it. I am no enthusiast; the course is new and singu- 
lar to me; but I could not enjoy one moment's peace 
till this letter was written. With the most ardent 
prayers for your spiritual as well as temporal welfare, 
I am your most 

Obedient and humble friend and servant, 

Jacob Duche. 



" This letter elicited do reply from Wash- 
ington, and no other notice of it than to 
enclose it in his despatches to Congress. 
Copies of it were speedily taken and circu- 
lated, and it was soon printed in the news- 
papers. The respectable character of Mr. 
Duch6, and the remarkable tenor of the 
letter, gave it notoriety at the time, and 
caused the particulars to be recorded among 
the events of history. 

'"'Mr. Duche had married a sister of Mr. 
Francis Hopkinson, one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, who, when the 



6S Vv' A S II TXGTON AT 

letter wns written, was at Bordentown, as a 
iiiember of the Coiilinental Navy Board. A 
co])}^ was forwarded to Mr. Ilopkinson, and 
lie wrote a letter to Mr. Diiclie on the sub- 
ject, which he enclosed to General Washing- 
ton, that it might be transmitted to him in 
Philadelphia, through the regular conveyjince 
of a flag."* 

This letter was received by General Wash- 
ington, and elicited the following in reply : 

GEORGE WASHINGTON TO FRANCIS HOPKINSON. 
Head Quarters, 21 Noveiuber, 1777. 
Sir, 

I am favoured with yours of the 14th inst., inclos- 
ing a letter for the Rev. Mr. Duche. 1 will endeavor 
to forward it to him, but I imauine it will never be 
permitted to reach his hands. I confess to you, that I 
was not more surprised than concerned, at receiving 
so extraordinary a letter from Mr. Duche, of whom I 
had entertained the most favorable opinion, and I am 
still willino; to suppose, thnt it was rather dictated by 
his fears than by bis real sentiments; but I very much 
doubt whether the great numbers of respectable char- 
acters, in the state and army, on whom he has bestowed 

* Wasliiiigton's Writings. (Sparks.) Yul. v. 



VALLEY FORGE. 69 

the most unprovoked and unmerited abuse, will ever 
attribute it to the same cause, or forgive the man, who 
has artfully endeavored to engage me to sacrifice 
them to purchase my own safety, 

I never intended to make the letter more public, 
than by laying it before Congress. I thought this a 
duty, which I owed to myself; for, had any accident 
happened to the army entrusted to my command, and 
it had ever afterwards appeared, that such a letter had 
been written to and received by me, might it not have 
been said, that I had betrayed my country ? And 
would not such a correspondence, if kept a secret, have 
given good grounds for the suspicion ? I thank you 
for your favorable sentiments, which you are pleased 
to express of me, and I hope no act of mine will ever 
induce you to alter them. I am, etc., 

George Washington". 

"Mr.Hopkinson's letter to Duche deserves 
to be recorded in this place, not more on ac- 
count of its connexion with the subject, than 
of the force and feeling with which it is 
written, and its lofty tone of patriotism and 

public virtue." 

Bordentown, 14 November, 1777. 
Dear Brother, 
A letter signed with your name, dated at Philadel- 
phia, on the 8th of October, and addressed to his 
Excellency General Washington, is handed about the 



70 WASHINGTON AT 

coll^tr3^ Many copies are taken, and T doubt not but 
it will soon get into the press, and become public 
throughout the Continent. Words cannot express the 
grief and consternation that wounded my soul at the 
sight of this fatal performance. What infatuation 
could influence you to offer to his Excellency an address 
filled with gross misrepresentation, illiberal abuse, aiid 
sentiments unworthy of a man of character? You 
have endeavoured to screen your own weaknesses by 
the most artful glosses, and to apologize to the General 
for the instability of your temper in a manner, that I 
am sure cannot be satisfactory to your own conscience. 

I could go through this extraordinary letter, and 
point out to you truth distorted in every leading part. 
But the world will doubtless do this with a severity, 
that must be daggers to the sensibilities of your heart. 
Read that letter over again, and if possible divest 
yourself of the fears and influence, whatever they were, 
that induced you to pen it. Consider its contents with 
an impartial eye, and reflect on the ideas it will 
naturally raise in the minds of the multitude. 

You will then find, that by a vain and weak effort 
you have attempted the integrity of one, whose virtue 
is impregnable to the assaults of fear or flattery, whose 
judgment needed not your information, and who, I am 
sure, would have resigned his charge the moment he 
found it likely to lead him out of the paths of virtue 
and honor. You will find that you have drawn upon 
you the resentment of Congress, the resentment of the 
army, the resentment of many worthy and noble char- 



VALLEY FORGE. 71 

acters in England, whom you know not, and the resent- 
Hjeiit of your insulted country. You have ventured 
to assert mai)y things at large of tlie affairs of England, 
France, and America, which are far from being true, 
and which, from your contracted knowledge in these 
matters, it is impossible for you to be acquainted with. 
In the whole of your letter, you have never recom- 
mended yourself to those, whose favour you seem 
desirous of obtaining, by expatiatiug on the justice 
or humanity of their conduct; and at the same time 
have said everything that can render you odious to 
those, on whom the happiness of your future life must 
depend. 

You presumptuously advise our worthy General, on 
whom millions depend with implicit confidence, to 
abandon their dearest hopes, and with or without the 
consent of his constituents, " to negotiate for America at 
the head of his army.'' 

Would not the blood of the slain in battle rise 
agaiust such perfidy ? And with whom would you 
have him negotiate ? Are they not those, w^ho, with- 
out the sanction of any civil, moral, or religious right, 
have come three thousand miles to destroy our peace 
and property, to lay waste yowr native country with fire 
and sword, and cruelly murder its inhabitants? Look 
for their justice and honour in their several proclama- 
tions, and look for their humanity in the jails of New 
York and Philadelphia, and in your own Potter's 
Field, The whole force of the reasoning contained in 
your letter tends to this point; that virtue and honour 



72 WASHINGTON AT 

require us to stand by truth, as lonp; as it can be clone 
with safety, but that her cause may be abandoned on 
the approach of danger; or, in other words, that the 
justice of the American cause ought to be squared by 
the success of her arms. On the whole, I find it im- 
possible to reconcile the matter and style of this letter 
with your general conduct, or with the virtues of your 
heart, I would fain hope, notwithstanding your asser- 
tion to the contrary, that you wrote it with a bayonet 
held to your breast, by order of the unprincipled 
usurpers of your native city. But my chief motive 
for writing to you at this time is to assure you, that 
I firmly believe that our just defensive war will be 
crowned with success, and that we shall ere long re- 
turn to our habitations in Philadelphia. I would, 
therefore, most earnestly warn you to evade the dismal 
consequences of your ill-judged address to our beloved 
General. Do all you can to wipe off, if possible, its 
unhappy effects. I tremble for you, for my good sis- 
ter, and her little family. I tremble for your personal 
safety. Be assured I write this from true brotherly 
love. Our intimacy has been of a long duration, even 
from our early youth; long and uninterrupted, without 
even a rub in the way; and so long have the sweetness 
of your manners, and the integrity of your heart, 
fixed my affections. 

I am perfectly disposed to attribute this unfortunate 
step to the timidity of your temper, the weakness of 
your nerves, and the undue influence of those about you. 
But will the world hold you so excused ? Will the indivi- 



VALLEY FORGE. 73 

duals you have so freely censured and characterized with 
contempt have this tenderness for you ? I fear nut. 
They will only judge of your conduct by its rashness, 
and proportion their resentment to their sensibility of 
the wounds you have given. 

I pray God to inspire you with some means of ex- 
tricating yourself from this embarrassing difficulty. 
For my own part, I have well considered the principles 
on which I took part with my country, and am deter- 
mined to abide by them to the last extremity. I beg 
my love to my good mother, and my affectionate sisters, 
I often think of them with great pain and anxietv, 
lest they should suffer from the want of those necessary 
supplies, that are now cut oflP. May Grod preserve 
them and you in this time of trial. I am, etc., 

Francis Hopkinson. 

''Mr. Duche went to England with his 

family, and was appointed preacher in the 

Lambeth Asylum, where the fame of his 

eloquence drew around him a large concourse 

of hearers. He was respected by the best 

classes of society, and appears to have 

received a competent remuneration for his 

pastoral services, and to have enjoyed all 

that consideration to which he was entitled 

by his character and profession. He was ill 



74 WASHINGTON AT 

Mt ease, however, in a foreign land, and 
sighed to return to his native country. The 
following letter is creditable to his heart, and 
show^s at least that he was constant in his 
attachments, and ready to confess an error 
into which he had been betrayed by a weak- 
ness of judgment." 

JACOB DUCHE TO GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

Asylum, Lambeth, 2 April, 1783. 

Sir, 

Will your Excellency condescend to accept of a 
few lines from one, who ever was and wishes still to 
be your sincere friend, who never intentionally sought 
to give you a moment's pain, who entertains for you 
the highest personal respect, and would be happy to be 
assured under your own hand, that he does not labor 
under your displeasure, but that yon freely forgive 
what a weak judgment, but a very affectionate heart, 
once presumed to advise ? Many circumstances, at 
present unknown to you, conspired to make me deem it 
my duty to write to you. Ignorance and simplicity saw 
not the necessity of your divulging the letter, I am 
convinced, however, that you could not, in your public 
station, do otherwise. I cannot say a word in vindica- 
tion of my conduct but this, that I had been for 
months before distressed with continual apprehensions 
for you and all n)y friends without the British lines. 



VALLEY FORGE. 75 

I looked upon all as gone; or that nothing could save 
you, but rescinding the Declaration of Independency. 
Upon thiji ground alone I presumed to speak ; not to 
advise an act of base treachery, my soul would have 
recoiled from the thought; not to surrender your arm}', 
or betray the righteous cause of your country, but, at 
the head of that army, siqjporting and mpported hy 
them, to negotiate with Britain for our constitutional 
rights. 

Can you then join with my country in pardoning 
this error of judgment? Will you yet honor me with 
your great interest and influence, by recommending, at 
least expressing your approbation of the repeal of an 
act, that keeps me in a state of banishment from my 
native country, from the arms of a dear aged father, 
and the embraces of a numerous circle of valuable and 
long-loved friends ? Your liberal, generous mind, I 
am persuaded, will never exclude me wholly from your 
regard for a mere political error; especially, as you 
must have heard, that, since the date of that letter, I 
have led a life of perfect retirement, and since my 
arrival in England have devoted m^'self wholly to the 
duties of my profession, and confined my acquaintance 
to a happy circle of literary and religious friends. 

I have written to my father and many of my 
friends largely on this subject, requesting them to 
make such application to the State of Pennsylvania in 
my behalf, as may be judged necessary and expedient. 
Should this application be honored with success, I 
know of nothing that would more effectually satisfv 



76 WASHINGTON AT 

my desires in a matter of such importance to m5'self 
and my family, as a line or two from your Excellency, 
expressive of your approbation of my return. Tem- 
poral emoluments are not wanting to induce me to 
remain for life on this side of the Athmtic. I have 
been most hospitably received and kindly treated by all 
ranks of people, and I should be ungrateful not to 
acknowledge in the strongest terms my obligation to 
those, who have placed me in the easy and comfortable 
situation I now enjoy. It is not necessity, therefore, 
but unalterable affection to my native country, that 
urges me to seek return. With every good wish and 
prayer for your best felicity, and my most hearty con- 
gratulations on the happy event of peace, I have the 
honor to be your Excellency's most obedient and hum- 
ble servant, 

Jacob Duche. 

george washington to jacob duche. 

Head Quarters, 10 August, 1783. 
Sir, 
I have received your letter of the 2d of April, and, 
reflecting on its contents, I cannot but say that I am 
heartily sorry for the occasion which has produced it. 
Personal enmity I bear none to any man. So far, 
therefore, as your return to this country depends on 
my private voice, it would be given in favor of it with 
cheerfulness. But, removed as I am from the people 
and policy of the State, in which you formerly re- 
sided, and to whose determination your case must be 



VALLEY FORGE. 77 

submitted, it is my duty, wliatever may be my incli- 
nation, to leave its decision to its constitutional judges. 
Should tins be agreeable to your wishes, it cannot fail 
to meet my entire approbation. I am, &c. 

G-EORGE Washington. 

" The laws of Pennsylvania excluding the 
refugees from that State, were not repealed 
till after the adoption of the Constitution of 
the United States. Mr. Duche returned to 
Philadelphia in the year 1790, much broken 
in health, having suffered a paralytic affec- 
tion. He died in 1794, being then about 
sixty years of age."* 



* Wasbingtou's Writings. (Sparks.) Yol. v. 
7* 



78 CHRIST CHURCH. 

PHILADELPHIA. 



This fine building ranks among tlie most 
ancient church edifices in the country, and 
is connected with many interesting remi- 
niscences of the past. It was founded in 
1695, under the care of the Rev. Mr. Clay- 
ton. The first building erected was humble 
indeed; it was but one story high, and so 
low that the ceiling could be touched by 
the uplifted hand. The bell, which was used 
to summon the people to worship, swung in 
the crotch of a large tree in front of the 
church. 

In 1710, a larger, and far more commodi- 
ous building was erected, enclosing the old 
one, in which the congregation continued to 




CHRIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA, 



CHRIST CHURCH. 79 

worship until the new building was suffi- 
ciently completed to admit of its removal. 

In 1727, the west end of the church, as it 
now stands, was erected. In 1731, the east- 
ern side was finished. The building was 
erected under the supervision of Dr. John 
Kearslej, of Philadelphia, who is said to 
have introduced this style of architecture, 
which is similar to that adopted in the old 
State House. It is a solid structure, and 
being built of dark bricks throughout, pre- 
sents a heavy and sombre appearance. 

The steeple, which is one of the loftiest in 
the city, was erected in 1753-4 ; it is reputed 
to be 196 feet in height, and is of an ele- 
gant form. The means for its construction 
was raised by a lottery. The chime of bells 
in this church are very fine, their musical 
tones break as gently on the sacred stillness 
of the Sabbath as in days of yore, when the 
people gathered from the neighboring towns 
and villages to listen to their harmony. 



80 CHRIST CHURCH. 

These bells were sunk in the Delaware be- 
fore the British entered Philadelphia, but 
were hung up again immediately after the 
evacuation of the city. 

Among the revolutionary incidents con- 
nected with this church, was the destruction 
of a bust of King George, carved in relief 
in front of the church. When the contest 
began, the spirited patriots could no longer 
brook this effigy of their oppressor amongst 
them. They mounted to the spot by means 
of a ladder, and with a hatchet chopped off 
its head, and otherwise mutilated it. 

With the exception of a few alterations in 
the interior, the church remains unchanged 
since the days when Washington and Frank- 
lin — when Congress and the officers of the 
Continental army worshipped within its walls. 

The engraving is from a very old picture, 
with the church surrounded by the humble 
buildings of the Revolutionary period. 




S^'PLTER'S CH URCH, PHILADELPH I A 



ST. Peter's church. 81 



ST. PETIl'S eiBECl^ 



St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia, ranks 
among the time-honored Church edifices of 
the country. Although a fine building, it can 
boast of but little architectural display. Its 
exterior is plain, and almost entirely devoid 
of ornament ; in its style there is some re- 
semblance to Christ Church, though less 
ornate, and far more aerial and agreeable in 
its effect. At the west end, is a high, square 
brick tower, from which rises a graceful and 
tapering spire. On its summit is a large 
ball and golden cross ; from its lofty eleva- 
tion, this glittering symbol of the Christian 
faith is a conspicuous object, flashing in the 
sunlight with a lustre as pure as the redeem- 
ing faith it represents. 



82 ST. Peter's church. 

In beauty of situation this church is unri- 
valled, the grounds are extensive, of great 
beauty, and well kept; although situated in 
the midst of business, and in a densely popu- 
lated district, there is not within the limits 
of the city a lovelier or more attractive spot. 

In the cemetery attached to the church 
are many fine tombs and monuments cover- 
ing the remains of the honored dead. 

The Rev. Jacob Duch6 was once rector of 
this church. At the eastern end of the church, 
marked by an unpretending stone, are buried 
his wife and several of his family. 

The engraving represents the church only, 
wathout the adjacent scenery, or the spire, 
which is a recent addition. It is surrounded 
by trees, whose rich foliage, in summer, al- 
most excludes it from view. The church has 
a fine chime of bells, which are rung on the 
Sabbath and other appropriate occasions. 



UNITED STATES SENATE^ A. D. 1850. 83 



mm $MiB Senate, Jl. p. ) 850. 



In bringing before the public this elegant 
engraving, the publishers feel confident of 
having produced a woi'k of great value to 
the American people ; independent of its in- 
trinsic merit as a work of art, which is of 
the highest order, it is pre-eminently na- 
tional in its character, and must claim the 
particular attention of the American people 
as the finest national picture ever produced 
in the country, whilst the exquisite manner 
in which the subject is rendered, must com- 
mand the admiration of every lover of art. 
The point of time selected by the artist may 
justly be regarded as the period when the 
representative greatness of the country had 



84 UNITED STATES SENATE, A. D. 1850. 

reached its acme. It represents the cele- 
brated Henry Clay of Kentucky, delivering 
his great speech on the state of the Union, 
in 1850, the last words he ever uttered in 
that Senate chamber where he had toiled so 
long and so faithfully in the public service. 
Around him are beautifully grouped his dis- 
tinguished cotemporaries, listening with rapt 
attention to the thrilling eloquence of the re- 
nowned American orator; prominent among 
them are the celebrated Daniel AVebster, 
Millard Fillmore, J. C. Calhoun, Thomas H. 
Benton, Gen. Cass, Seward, Hale, Houston, 
King, Bell, of Tennessee, and including the 
entire number of senators of that session. 
The picture possesses great additional inte- 
rest from the fact, that it was the last 
senate in which the most distinguished of 
these great men ever appeared together; the 
congratulations that hailed the settlement of 
the agitating questions before the country 
had scarcely ceased, when the voice of 



UNITED STATES SENATE, A. D. 1850. 85 

mourning arose in the land, from the North 
to the South, theEast and the West, it went 
forth in one commingling cry, for the most 
distinguished of her sons hnd fallen. With 
the session of 1850 closed the earthly labors 
of Clay, Webster, and Calhoun; they passed 
from the council chamber to the grave, and 
the halls that had so often echoed to their 
words of eloquence and power, were destined 
to know them no more. The portraits in the 
engraving are universally acknowledged to be 
the most accurate ever published of these dis- 
tinguished individuals; they are taken princi- 
pally from the best daguerreotypes, and from 
the most reliable portraits that could be pro- 
cured. The picture is 34 inches by 27 in 
size, painted by P. Rothermel, of Philadel- 
phia, in his best style, and engraved by 
Robert Whitechurch, of London. 

The engraving can be securely rolled, and 
sent to any part of the country. Persons 
wishing to ascertain the terms of subscrip- 



86 UNITED STATES SENATE, A. D. 1850. 

tion for artist's proofs, colored copies, India 
or plain proofs, can do so by directing to 
J. M. Butler, 84 Chestnut Street, Jayne's 
Granite Building, Philadelphia. 



A MERRY-MAKING. 87 



A MERRY-MAKING 

l« THE OLDEN TIME* 



" When the merry bells ring round, 
And the jocund rebecs sound 
To many a youth, and many a maid, 
Dancing in the chequered shade ; 
And young and old come forth to play 
On a sunshine holy-day. 

Milton's L' Allegro. 

In this beautiful engraving we have one of 
those delightful pictures of rural festivity, 
that, in simplicity and true enjoyment, closely 
accords with those of our own time. It is 
one of those scenes which the painter takes 
an especial interest in portraying. In this 
composition, we have all the excellencies, 
the life, vigor, and humor of the old masters, 



88 A MERRY-MAKING. 

without the common-place vulgarities that 
generally distinguished their delineations of 
rural scenes and festivities. 

In the " huge old oak," that occupies the 
centre of the picture, we recognize one of 
those monarchs of the wood, that might well 
be the pride of the village, or become the 
boast of a nation. Beneath its wide-spread- 
ing branches the old and young have gathered 
in happy groups, intent upon those innocent 
pastimes that bring no sorrow or bitter re- 
flections in their train. On the right of the 
picture, embowered among trees, are clus- 
tered the lovely cottages, with luxuriant 
vines and flowers crowning the humble porch 
Avith loveliness, and sheltering the little win- 
dows with their graceful foliage. In the fore- 
ground of the picture is a very fine group. 
Surrounded by happy children are an aged 
couple on whom age has descended — 

'• As a geiiorous winter, 
Frostv but kinillv." 



A MERRY-MAKING. 89 

The old lady, who sits quietly sipping her 
tea before the cottage door, is evidently en- 
joying the confusion of her aged partner, 
who, surrounded by a group of happy girls 
and children, is being led forth to join in the 
more active pleasures of the scene ; in the 
middle distance the dance is merrily footed 
by a group of villagers ; on the left of the 
picture is a knot of sturdy men engaged in 
athletic sports, and enjoying themselves in 
true rustic fashion. 

In the foreground are several fine groups ; 
in one stands the village booby twirling his 
hat, thoroughly disconcerted by the angry 
glances of the lovers whose tete-a-tete he 
has evidently disturbed ; in another group, 
the garrulous fortune-teller has grasped the 
hand of a beautiful girl, who, with half averted 
frice and mingled look of fear and pleasure, 
seems to be listening to the usual story of 
good fortune through life. The only reverse 
side to this pleasing composition is on the 



90 A MERRY-MAKING. 

left of the picture, where a besotted boor, 
overcome by excess, has sunk helplessly in 
a chair, his wife stands beside him, holding 
by the hand her ragged boy; in this touching 
little episode, in which there is much signi- 
ficance, we have the only digression from the 
spirit of happiness prevailing throughout the 
work. The artist has exhibited such skill 
in the composition of the various groups, as 
to constitute a very effective picture; audit 
is such scenes as this, speaking of the plea-, 
sant sunshine and the heart's happiness, that 
are always welcome, even when contemplated 
with the critic's eye. 

To those who have passed much time amid 
village scenes, this picture must prove an 
ever pleasing memento, and a delightful re- 
miniscence to those who have but occasion- 
ally been a participant in the happy scene it 
represents. 

The engraving can be securely rolled, and 
sent to any part of the countr}'. Persons 



A MERRY-MAKING. 91 

wishing to ascertain the terms of subscrip- 
tion for artist's proofs, colored copies, India 
or plain proofs, can do so by directing to 
J. M. Butler, 84 Chestnut Street, Jayne's 
Granite Building, Philadelphia. - 



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